The Lions started their four-game road trip Wednesday night in Jacksonville. The last time the two teams met – in early December in Florida – Trois-Rivières registered a 4-3 victory. The Lions are just a few points out of fourth place in the North Division which is also the final playoff qualifying spot. A win in Jacksonville would elevate the team into a tie for fourth.
The Lions came out roaring in the first period: Nolan Yaremko opened the scoring at 3:41 and then just over two minutes later it was Alex-Olivier Voyer making the score 2-0 (Ben Tupker got an assist on the goal, his first professional point in his first professional game). Next up, Voyer scored his second goal at 7:25 to give Trois-Rivières a 3-0 lead. The Icemen hung tough, however, and Dominick Mersch scored at 8:58 and then Logan Cockerill at 12:05 to cut the Lions’ lead to 3-2.
Unlike the first period’s goal-scoring fest, the second period was the complete opposite, with neither team adding to their goal totals, so after 40 minutes of play the score remained 3-2 for the Lions.
It sure looked like the Lions would be skating away with a valuable two points, but with only 34 seconds remaining in the third period Jacksonville found the back of the Trois-Rivières’ net, tying the score at 3-3. Next up: Overtime.
As fate would have it for the Lions, it was Jacksonville’s Garrett Van Wyhe who scored the OT winner to give the Icemen a 4-3 victory.
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